


Empty

by Potatochutney



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Daemons, HDM crossover, On the ship to the west, Passing to the west, Post War of the Ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-15
Updated: 2014-09-15
Packaged: 2018-02-17 13:22:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2311136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potatochutney/pseuds/Potatochutney
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The ring was most certainly not made by normal smithing. Sailing to the west brought up a fierce question.<br/>Where had Frodo's daemon gone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Empty

It was only on the boat that Bilbo and Brandione notice Frodo’s lack of Daemon. 

Her name had been Aelaphin, she’d taken on the form of a cheerful dog. It was completely respectable, compared to Bilbo’s badger. Badger of bag-end, grumpy and unsociable, is what people had said badgers were. In Bilbo’s old age that had become true, he cared more about writing than going and being social. That and he was the eternal bachelor as far as they knew. 

“Frodo my dear, where’s Aelaphin? Did she change shape? I know they can change shape. Brandy did, when I was out on my adventure.” Bilbo said, arm holding his nephew’s with a small frown. He was half blind, but surely he would have known. Brandione raised a greyed head and looked around. 

“Not here.” She affirmed quietly.   
Frodo’s eyes flickered to the others on the boat, getting a small but terribly sad smile from Gandalf.

“I’m afraid I lost her, uncle.” Frodo mumbled. “I lost her when I lost your ring.”   
Bilbo’s face dropped and he croaked weakly at Brandione who leant over and rested her head on Frodo’s leg.

“I’m so sorry, young Frodo.” Bilbo mumbled, putting a weak arm around the boy. 

The ring had slowly cut off his connection to Aelaphin, making her more like an animal, less responsive to Samwise’s own Daemon Carbilly. Less would she speak, her hair began to grow thinner and her voice raspier and weaker. 

She’d warned Frodo, she’d warned him not to take it. When he had promised to take the ring to Mordor she knew it would be their deaths.

The ring would feel heavier as Aelaphin weakened, the shine coming more to it by the day. Sometimes he could read the inscription.

In Mordor Frodo had realised that the ring was not made of gold. 

It was made of dust. 

 

A few days later, the ring shone brighter and Aelaphin was gone. Not a trace of dust left behind, only a husk of Frodo’s heart was still in his chest. 

That was why the disgusting Gollum had no daemon to speak of. The ring had consumed her. Gollum had known the daemon would be killed, he’d been trying to kill it off whenever nobody was paying attention, kicking her into the marshes or making her go first across unsteady terrain. 

He should have known better.

But Frodo was still standing, his feet shredded and his chest an open hole. In the shire, they’d assumed he was a real demon or a wraith because he had lost his daemon. Frodo supposed he was something unnatural. He’d killed his own daemon. 

Gandalf had apologised so profusely when they had been recovered, assuming that Frodo would probably die because Aelaphin wasn’t there. But the truth was so much worse. As bad as an Orc.   
But even Orcs had daemons. 

He was hollow. He was a shell of a person. 

On the shores, she greeted him with a weakened sob when he stepped off the boat. Bilbo simply smiled, once more a younger Hobbit.   
Brandione greeted Aelaphin so gladly.


End file.
